On the eve of Wells Fargo's annual shareholders meeting in San Antonio, TX on Tuesday, home defenders, students, community groups, and activists in ten cities took peaceful action against the bank. Petitions signed by thousands of people were delivered to Wells Fargo branches and offices across the country calling on CEO John Stumpf to change the bank’s predatory practices.

Earlier this month, we put the word out that we were planning to take on Wells Fargo and the response we got was overwhelming. So many people registered for an organizing conference call that we had to schedule a second one just to accommodate everyone.

Well’s Fargo’s well-documented history of abusive and discriminatory lending, servicing, and foreclosure practices have caused millions of families to lose their homes or be underwater on their mortgages. The bank’s actions have devastated communities across the country- impacting everyone from homeowners facing foreclosure, to students struggling to afford school, and immigrants fighting to keep their families intact. Even Wells Fargo employees are stepping forward to talk about how the company's predatory practices hurt their workers and communities.

On April 29, Wells Fargo will celebrate it’s record as the country’s most profitable bank at their annual shareholders meeting in San Antonio, TX. People around the country are organizing to send a message to the bank that these predatory practices have to stop. Home defenders have launched petitions online, and planned actions at local Wells Fargo branches and offices, and some are even traveling to San Antonio to confront the bank’s executives directly.

On Wednesday February 19, supporters delivered petitions signed by over 2,000 people to Wells Fargo branches around the country, urging the bank not to foreclose on Lavinia Curry, an 86 year old Grandmother in Irvington, NJ.

Despite being the most profitable US bank in 2013, Wells Fargo continues to foreclose on struggling homeowners, often refusing to work with families to keep them in their homes. The latest victim, Lavinia Curry, purchased her Irvington, NJ home in 2003 with the help of her children, fulfilling her lifelong dream of homeownership. In 2010, the family missed ONE mortgage payment, but attempted to make the missed payment the very next month. Wells Fargo refused to accept the payment and began the process of foreclosure instead. A sheriff's sale of the family's home is scheduled for next month.

Join NJ Communities United, Occupy Our Homes, and the Home Defenders League for the Housing Justice Academy in Newark, NJ on December 7th & 8th!

We’re bringing people together to learn how we can fight back against Wall Street greed, strengthen our connections to each other, and build a movement that has the power to push back against Wall Street and the big banks. Learn how to: • Organize your neighbors• Lead direct actions• Execute eviction defenses• Participate in non-violent civil disobedience• Talk to the press• Launch online petitions

Over the last two years, Occupy Our Homes groups around the country have helped hundreds of families fight to stay in their homes, winning houses, farms, and even churches back from the bank. We've liberated vacant bank-owned homes in order to provide stable housing for those in need. We've worked with communities to set up Eviction Free Zones, where neighbors have pledged to defend each other from wrongful foreclosures and evictions. We've learned that the only way to hold Wall Street accountable is to come together and organize-- to create a world where people, not banks, have control over their communities.

This fall, the Housing Justice Academy-- in Atlanta, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Newark, and more-- will bring people together to learn tactics and strategies to defend our homes, train in non-violent direct action, and work together to build a stronger housing justice movement that has the power to take on big banks- and win!

150 neighbors and community supporters successfully prevented the scheduled eviction of Jaymie Kelly, a Minneapolis homeowner who has lived in her home 30 years, this morning.

Jaymie, who has paid the value of her home five times over, was scheduled to be evicted by Freddie Mac and the Hennepin County sheriff's department at 10:30 this morning, on her daughter Sinead's 23rd birthday--but a rapid community response forced the sheriffs' deputies to reschedule.

"The government is shut down, but Freddie Mac evictions are still considered an essential service. But the power of community is too big to fail," said Jaymie. "Today's blocked eviction is the greatest birthday present I could give my daughter. I am not moving, and my neighbors stand with me."

Freddie Mac, which operates under the federal agency FHFA, is continuing its evictions of Jaymie and others in spite of the government shutdown.

"Sheriff Stanek and the big banks don't want to do their dirty work in front of 150 community members," said Nick Espinosa, an organizer with Occupy Homes MN whose family successfully fought off foreclosure last year. "But we will be ready for them at any hour of the day or night. Jaymie's not going anywhere, and neither are we."

On March 18, Mildred Obi-Garrison, joined by Occupy Our Homes Atlanta, as well as dozens of supporters and community members, moved back into her home in an act of civil disobedience. Mildred had been evicted from her home in Stone Mountain, Georgia by Bank of America last November, despite years of fighting in the courts.

After securing her property back from the bank, supporters set up a 24-hour eviction defense at the home to fend off any possible eviction attempts by the police, and mounted a public pressure campaign against Bank of America, the servicer who had carried out the foreclosure and eviction. After holding a sit-in at a local branch, and gathering thousands of petition signatures online, Bank of America promptly reached out to Mildred and began negotiations.

Today, Mildred can claim victory as those negotiations have finally resulted in a deal that will keep her in her home permanently. Her fight for housing justice has just begun however, as she pledged today to continue the fight alongside the millions of others who are facing housing crisis. Today's win marks a historic victory for the movement, proving that solutions can be worked out, even after eviction.

Wall Street thinks they've gotten away with it. The banks have doled out paltry settlement checks, the media and the Obama administration tout the "housing recovery"--and foreclosures continue at three times their pre-2007 levels.

But all over the country, we're finding that when we fight back, we win. When Mildred Obi,­ a retired senior­ was wrongfully evicted from her home by Bank of America, she decided to fight back. She moved back in with the help of Occupy Our Homes Atlanta, and now she owns her home for good. In Minneapolis, two entire neighborhoods have declared an Eviction Free Zone, pledging to fight the banks together. Neighbors turned out in droves to defend Sergio Ceballos' home from eviction in July, and as a result, he's still in his home and hoping to reach a resolution with Chase Bank.

We know that the only way to hold Wall Street accountable is to come together and organize--to create a world where people, not banks, have control over their communities.

In October, Occupy Our Homes will bring people together to do just that by hosting our first ever Housing Justice Academy. We’ll come together to learn how we can fight back, strengthen our connections to each other, and build a movement that has the power to fight back against these institutions. From October 26 through October 28, trainings and actions will be taking place in Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles, and more locations might be added soon.

Occupy Our Homes Atlanta annouced a major victory today for Jacqueline Barber, a retired police detective who has been battling cancer and fighting for her home since October of last year.

More from OOHA:

After an almost year long fight, we're elated to announce that Jacqueline Barber has worked out a deal that will keep her and her family in their home for good! Jacqueline, a retired police detective who has been fighting a rare form of bone marrow cancer, was facing eviction when she first reached out to Occupy Our Homes Atlanta last October. Jacqueline was dual tracked and her mortgage documents were filled with forged signatures, and like millions of Americans she was now faced with losing her home. But after fighting for a year, Wall Street backed down and agreed to let Jaqueline and her family keep their home

It is with great joy and power that we report that Ana, Jose and Yocelyn Mendez have secured an agreement to keep them in their home!

Following seven months of negotiations since an October 12, 2012 eviction blockade that forced Aurora Bank to back down, the Mendez family and Aurora Bank have agreed to one of the first, post-foreclosure, former-owner rental agreements allowing them to stay in their home at an affordable price! It is not only a victory for the family, but a precedent for future former-owner rental agreements post-foreclosure.

The Mendez Family sent their first payment in for September 1st and now have gained significant rights as tenants. Their hope is that they will be able to buy the home back again eventually.

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